Donald Trump is waging a two-front war.
In Iran, the downing of an American F-15 fighter jet, with the spectacular rescue of the missing second crew member, announced by the president yesterday, was fantastic news thanks to special ops teams who risked their lives to find him. But the fact that the plane was shot down unfortunately undercuts Trump’s argument that the murderous mullahs have no ability to fight back. And it highlights what soldiers have always known: War is hell.
The same goes for the Iranians downing an A-10 attack plane, and though the pilot was quickly rescued, it shows the unpredictable nature of war.
At home, Trump has been firing top aides and targeting others for dismissal. The ouster of Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem, and media reports about who’s next, has fueled anxiety throughout the Cabinet. The only person who’s probably safe at this point is Jared, given his son-in-law status.
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There is some connective tissue between these ongoing battles. They reflect a president who busts through the guardrails, scolds his allies, launches a surprise war with little explanation and turns on those he deems insufficiently loyal.
To his supporters, Trump gets results because he’s not afraid to take risks that have paralyzed previous presidents grappling with the world’s leading terror state.
To his detractors, Trump is impulsive and reckless, boxing himself into impossible corners by failing to adequately plan for the inevitable consequences.
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By any fair yardstick, U.S. and Israeli warplanes have decimated Iran’s military machine with a remarkably low casualty rate.
And Iran’s cheap-to-produce drones have caused some injuries to Americans at military bases in surrounding Arab countries, and also inflicted damage on Israel, wounding numerous residents.
Asked by NBC’s Garrett Haake in a phone call whether the downing of the F-15 – before the rescue – would affect his negotiations with Iran, Trump said, “No, not at all. No, it’s war. We’re in war, Garrett.”
One reason the president’s prime-time speech fell short is that the public expected him to declare victory and get out, not threaten to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages.” And will he actually wrap things up in “two to three weeks,” which is his standard refrain for some time in the future?
For the president to urge European nations to just “take” the Strait of Hormuz – after having declared that he wouldn’t end the war without a deal to break the Iranian blockade – shows the mixed messages that have marked this conflict.
And then, having washed his hands of anything having to do with Hormuz, Trump posted on Truth Social yesterday: “Open the F—–‘ Strait, you crazy b——s.”
Uh, which is it? Depends on when you ask him. (CNN ran the quote as a banner, uncensored.)
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Trump is touting Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Ghalibaf, as someone he can do business with. But Ghalibaf has repeatedly mocked him, posting: “This brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?’”
Perhaps the president will lose confidence in him the way he did with Pam Bondi.
The now-former attorney general did a terrible job, from botching the Epstein files to refusing to engage with the pedophile’s victims to insulting Democrats at a hearing in which she proudly proclaimed that this was a distraction from the Dow topping 50,000.
Bondi unloaded on Jamie Raskin, who led Democrats during Trump’s second impeachment: “You don’t tell me anything, you washed-up loser lawyer. You’re not even a lawyer!?” (Raskin is a graduate of Harvard Law School and taught constitutional law at American University.)
But that only partially explains her removal. Bondi did everything she could to prosecute Trump’s political enemies. But charges against James Comey and Letitia James were tossed out by judges or blocked by grand juries that refused to indict.
It’s worth dwelling on how outrageous it is for the Justice Department to serve as an attack dog for those who the president has pronounced guilty. Not since John Mitchell went to prison in the Watergate cover-up has the department’s mission been so twisted.
Bondi’s likely replacement, Todd Blanche, acting attorney general, a former Trump defense lawyer (and ex-prosecutor), backed Bondi every step of the way in turning DOJ into Trump’s Department of Retribution. The president clearly wants Blanche to be even more aggressive.
Trump all but confirmed this yesterday to ABC, saying: “Everybody wants it. But Todd’s doing very well. He’s been with me a long time.”
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Trump’s attorneys general have suffered the same fate. He booted Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russiagate probe, and then campaigned against him. Bill Barr resigned under pressure from Trump after finding no widespread fraud in the 2020 election, with the president later hurling insults at him.
Noem also did an awful job, seemingly more interested in self-promotion than dealing with the excesses of ICE, especially the fatal shooting of two American citizens, who she branded domestic terrorists. It wasn’t until she falsely accused Trump of approving a costly ad campaign featuring her that he’d had enough.
As an added indignity, we learned that Noem had potentially exposed herself to blackmail when those gaudy photos of her cross-dressing husband surfaced.
Now there are newspaper reports that Trump may dump Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who’s been accused of an improper relationship with a security staffer, misusing public funds and workplace drinking. Several top aides have resigned, and her husband is barred from the building after an accusation of sexual assault.
Trump is also weighing a pink slip for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who often freelances on his own. Lutnick was untruthful about visiting Jeffrey Epstein on his Caribbean island, years after he claimed to have cut off contact.
Trump has been asking aides about sacking Tulsi Gabbard, the national intelligence director, but seems to have dropped that idea for now. He doesn’t want headlines about a full-scale housecleaning.
“She’s a little bit different in her thought process than me, but that doesn’t make somebody not available to serve,” he told reporters the other day.
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A judge has also blocked a subpoena for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the subject of a DOJ criminal probe related to cost overruns for the agency’s renovation of its 89-year-old headquarters.
Cabinet shakeups are occasionally used as quick fixes. In 1979, Jimmy Carter demanded that all members resign, and wound up dropping Health Secretary Joe Califano, Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal, Energy Secretary James Schlesinger, Transportation Secretary Brock Adams and Attorney General Griffin Bell. It didn’t help.
For Trump, it’s almost always a question of loyalty, and for those who fall into disfavor, no amount of butt-kissing is ever enough.
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So we have the president fiddling with his political lineup and potential replacements even as he is fighting a war against Iran. You might think that would be put on hold as American warplanes are shot out of the sky.
But Trump is the ultimate multi-tasker. He’s even found time lately to complain about his planned White House ballroom and filed an emergency appeal, citing national security concerns, of a court ruling that has blocked construction.
Whether the president is dealing with Pam Bondi or Mohammad Ghalibaf, he does what he wants, when he wants to do it. And leaves the consequences for another day.
